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ABC’s ‘The View’ hosted just one conservative guest before Election Day, MRC study finds
A Media Research Center study says ABC’s *The View* hosted 21 guests it classified as liberal and one conservative guest between 8 September and 3 November, the weeks before Election Day. The figures have renewed scrutiny of the programme’s political balance and prompted criticism from the conservative watchdog, though the count reflects the study’s own classifications.
The study counted 56 guests in total and included Republican Senator Thom Tillis among the liberal guests because he discussed his anti-Trump book; Texas Senator Ted Cruz was the sole conservative. Its method counted guests only when they expressed political views during their appearances, excluding celebrities who did not discuss politics. The article also notes that the show hosted 128 liberal guests and two conservatives during 2025, and that ABC had not immediately responded to a request for comment.
In short
- MRC counted 21 liberal guests and one conservative before Election Day.
- The study covered 56 guests from 8 September to 3 November.
- Its categories depended on views expressed during appearances.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
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The case for
A programme discussing politics should expose viewers to a meaningful range of credible viewpoints, especially during an election period. If the study’s classifications and counting rules are sound, the reported disparity could suggest that The View gave conservative perspectives too little space, limiting the challenge to its hosts’ arguments and the variety of views audiences heard.
The case against
The figures come from a conservative watchdog’s study, and the classifications and inclusion rules shape the result: for example, it counted Senator Thom Tillis as liberal based on discussion of his anti-Trump book. A guest tally alone cannot establish whether coverage was unfair or whether viewpoints were represented across the programme as a whole; the show may also select guests for relevance to particular discussions rather than to meet a political quota.
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